Janice Ankrett Burlington Ontario Accredited Staging Professional

Ben's Song is a wonderful story about a young man that cares. It's also a story about other young men who you would probably see and not think about how giving they could be.

It's a story about a new song being written for a Mom by a son and his friends. It's a story about how others joined their journey and donated their time to make it happen.

It's a mixture of Rap and Melody. The Rap is the son's thoughts and the Melody is the mother's voice.

I hope you will follow the link to find out more. Click on the links there for the full story.

Help my son's friend, Ben, raise funds for Princess Margaret Hospital by downloading the song when it is released February 4th, World Cancer Day.

You have decided to sell your home.

By putting it on the market you have opened it up to the public. Your home will not only be viewed in person by buyers, it will be viewed on the MLS by many many more.

While this helps sell your home so you can move on with your life, it does present security issues that should not be ignored.

As a Stager, it is part of my job to inform my clients about any issues I see in their home. Often they are surprised.

Lock boxes are used by many agents as a secure way to provide a key to your home. The combination is given out to other agents who will be showing your home to a potential buyer.

Public Open Houses are used to draw people in to view your home. Discuss the benefits with your Realtor. Find out if they feel it is the best route for your home. Will visitors be wandering through your home alone?

Family photos should be removed while on the market. These photos distract the buyer's attention from how they would use your home to what you are like. They can also tell the public about your children. Remember, these photos could end up on the MLS as well. Great photos of your rooms will help sell your home.

Children often have their name on their wall or sitting on a shelf. It looks great and fits in with the decor. But if it ends up in an MLS photo, strangers will know the sex, approximate age and the name of your child.

Extra keys are often left in a basket by the door or hanging on decorative hooks. Keep in mind that keys are small and pocketable. Store them out of sight while you are on the market.

Games and DVDs are kept in open shelves or bins for easy access. Remember that they are small and easy to pick up.

Jewelry boxes and stands are convenient when left out on chests or vanities. It is best to put them out of sight when selling. Valuable items should be stored in safety deposit box or at a relative's home.

Valuable items should be in safe places or removed while you sell. They will not attract undue attention or be damaged during a viewing.

The Internet exposure will help sell your home. It also opens your home up to the public.

Keep this in mind as you prepare your home for sale.

Just sitting on the market going nowhere is no fun.

It disturbs your daily routines causing stress. You have to keep the house clean and tidy and be ready to leave on short notice for viewings. No one likes to live this way.

Let's look at the reasons why houses just sit instead of selling.

Price: Everyone thinks their home is wonderful and worth just as much if not more than the competition. Unfortunately, your view may be skewed by your emotional attachment. Did you listen to your Realtor when they appraised your home? Is your home realistically priced? Buyers do not have that emotional attachment. To them your home is just another house to look at. Buyers are not going to overpay if they can help it.

Location: Is your house sitting unsold because of it's location? Are you situated on a busy street or near railway tracks? Location can definitely affect the value and appeal of your home. You may need to adjust your price and you certainly need to show the buyer a home so wonderful that they will ignore the location. This is where staging can be helpful. Staging will highlight the features of your home for the buyer. If your location is poor, don't forget to stage the yard as well as the interior. Show them a private garden they can enjoy as well as a home full of 'I wants'.

Outdated home: Now that your home is a product it has to compete with comparable homes on the market. Find out what the typical 'I wants' are for your type of home and see if your home offers these features. If your color scheme is out of date, paint the key rooms. Do you have worn flooring? It could be time to replace it. Updating light fixtures can make a big difference in how your home is perceived. Don't show the buyer a tired home. Tired means time and money to many buyers. A staging consult will give you an objective view of your home. It will point out the updates that will give you the most for your money.

Deferred Maintenance: Have you let those repairs go? Even a light fixture that doesn't work can raise a red flag for buyers. Look at your landscaping. That's the first thing the buyer sees. A neglected yard sends a poor message. Chipped or marked paint means work and money. Look at your shingles. Stained ceilings signal larger problems. No matter how large the repair is, it is raising a red flag for buyers. What else have you ignored?

Marketing to the wrong group: Make sure you find out from your Realtor and/or Stager who will be looking for a home like yours. Each room has to show the buyers a clear purpose. Make sure you 'purpose' each room for your type of buyer. Is the marketing of your home to a family, a single professional, a young couple, a young couple about to start a family or empty nesters? Knowing who will be looking at your home can make a difference on whether you set up a bedroom with a bed or a home office. Should you show off a formal dining space in that small living/dining room or a great room? Should there be a guest room or a child's room? Is your home too country or traditional? Your home needs to appeal to buyers with varying tastes. They need to be able to see their lifestyle fitting into your home. It could be time to tone down that country feel.

Listen to the feedback on your home. There is a reason your home is still sitting there when others have sold.

When you are part of the Industry that sells houses you tend to deal with the same issues over and over again. They become very obvious and common place to us.

The thing we have to remember is that to each client it is very new ... especially if they have not sold a house for many years, if ever.

Yes, to the seller it is anything but business as usual. They are selling their home and that means a lot of upheaval for them. Their home and lifestyle must change for a successful sale.

Clients come to us with expectations and dollar signs in their eyes.

To the seller their home is wonderful and should get just as much as the house down the street brought in.

As Professionals we know this is not always the reality.

Realtors do a Comparative Market Analysis to find a List Price for each home. They are comparing apples with apples not oranges. Realtors know how the market has changed recently and factor it into their calculations. The answer may not be what the seller wants to hear but it is the current reality.

Stagers deal with Condition. We come into the home and look at it with the eyes of a Buyer. Our job is to get the home into Selling Mode which is very different from Living Mode. HGTV makes it look like everything is perfect after 48hrs no matter what the issues with the home. In reality, it may take days or weeks to get that home into show condition:

1. the home may need painting. This could be due to normal wear and tear or dated colors.
2. the home may have flooring issues. Stained and worn carpeting should be replaced with either new carpeting or hardwood. At the very least the carpeting must be shampooed.
3. the lighting in the home may need updating. The fixtures could be out of style or builder basics that will not impress buyers.
4. editing the sellers 'stuff' is necessary. Buyers have to be able to see past it. Editing means the best pieces for selling are used to highlight the features of the home.
5. furniture placement may be changed. This opens up the spaces making them feel bigger and aids traffic flow.

The list goes on depending on the home and can become overwhelming to a Seller. That's why we Professionals make a plan specific to that home. By creating an action plan the Seller can find the light at the end of the tunnel.

It is our job to guide our Client through the process of selling.

We are there to introduce the realities of selling to our Client. The steps of selling a home may be common place to us but not our Clients.